Love beyond the mask (Whitney) novel Chapter 1187

Whitney choked on her own breath, rubbing her temples in exasperation. She hadn’t even called anyone an idiot—why was her son taking it so personally?

She quickly tried to soothe him. “Sweetie, I didn’t mean it like that. Danny, come on, being a little goofy, a little silly, that’s what makes you so adorable!”

Danny’s wailing only grew louder. “Goofy?! Are you saying I’m a big goofball? Like I’m some kind of dork?”

Shane, listening on speaker, was both amused and amazed. He’d never realized Ludwik’s eldest son could be this melodramatic. “Sammy, is your cool big brother always this touchy? He’s got quite the… sensitive streak.”

Sammy just rolled his eyes. “It’s because I’m so smart. My brother gets a little self-conscious. He’s always trying extra hard to look good in front of Mom.”

Shane let out a noncommittal “Hmm.”

If this kept up, Danny would cry all day and they’d never get anything done. Shane, tall and broad-shouldered, bent down to speak into Danny’s smartwatch. “Whitney, what’s up? Did you need something?”

“Shane, sorry to bother you. Did you drop my boys off at the hospital yesterday?”

Shane sounded put out. “Yeah, they insisted on visiting their baby sister first thing this morning. They couldn’t care less about my own daughter.”

Whitney blinked, then realized he meant his own little girl. She laughed. “Oh, come on, your daughter’s adorable! She looks just like Sandy.”

At the mention of Sandy, Shane fell silent for a second.

Whitney seized the moment. “Speaking of, Sandy told me she ran into you at the hospital yesterday. Why didn’t you invite her out for dinner?”

Shane’s voice dropped, unreadable. “You sent her off on that field assignment forever. I haven’t even given you a hard time about that. You think she’d actually want to have dinner with me as soon as she comes back? She probably can’t stand me.”